Adjustable key and assembly jig therefor



y 23, 1954 w. s. CHRISTOPHER 3,142,167

ADJUSTABLE KEY AND ASSEMBLY JIG THEREFOR Filed July 28, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a4 INVENTOR: WALl' ER 5. CHRISTOPHER ATT'Y y 1964 w. s. CHRISTOPHER 3,142,167

ADJUSTABLE KEY AND ASSEMBLY JIG THEREFOR Filed July 28, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 INVENTOR: WALTER S.CHRIST PHER ATT'Y United States Patent C) 3,142,167 ADJUSTABLE KEY AND ASSEMBLY JIG THEREFOR Walter S. Christopher, Park Ridge, Ill., assiguor to Chicago Lock Company, Chicago, III., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 28, 1961, Ser. No. 127,584 2 Claims. (Cl. 70-411) The present invention relates to improvements in keys for locks of the type that embody an annular series of axially shiftable tumblers. In a lock of this type, the tumblers slide in bores and pass from the stationary part of the lock into the rotatable part. Furthermore, the tumblers are transversely divided or split and are adapted to be longitudinally or axially displaced by the proper key for the lock against the resistance of springs in such a manner that their splits or joints coincide with the joint between the movable and stationary parts of the lock. For that purpose, the key is provided with an annular series of push pins of unequal but definite or predetermined length, the various lengths of the push pins being commensurate with the extent to which their associated or respective tumblers must be forced back in the pin-receiving bores of the lock so that all of the joints of the tumblers will coincide with the joint between the stationary and rotatable parts of the lock and thus permit the rotatable part to be turned by the key.

It is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a key of the aforementioned character and wherein the push pins of unequal length are interchangeable in their respective mountings to the end that the number of effectively different keys which may be constructed for use with different combinations of tumblers, while utilizing the same key parts, is governed by the mathematical law of all possible permutations.

Another and important object of the invention is to provide a key of the type under consideration, which is so constructed or designed that the various push pin permutations of which the key is capable may be made in a simple manner and without requiring special tools other than a conventional screw driver or other turning tool. Briefly, in carrying out this object, the invention contemplates the provision of a key assembly which, exclusive of the interchangeable push pins, is comprised of but two principal parts, namely, a key body and a pin holder, a single fastening screw serving to maintain the holder and body in assembled relation. When the holder is removed from the key body, the push pins are exposed and accessible for interchange, and when the holder and body are assembled, the push pins are locked in whatever effective positions may have been selected for them from the total available permutations or combinations.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in connection and combination with an adjustable key of the lice is ready for use. The key and jig are of such a simplified nature that the entire push pin change-over or interchange operation may be eifected in the hands of the operator without requiring a work bench or other temporary support for the various key parts. I

The provision of an adjustable key which is extremely simple in its construction and, therefore, may be manufactured at a low cost; one which is comprised of a minimum number of parts and, when assembled, has no relatively moving parts whatsoever so that it is unlikely to get out of order or working condition; one which is rugged and durable and,'therefore, will withstand rough usage; one which is small and compact; and one which is attractive in its appearance and pleasing in its design, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodyment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of a key constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and showing the key operatively positioned for entry into the keyway of a lock;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of one end of the key;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the other end of the y;

' FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the key;

FIG. 5 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view taken longitudinally through the key;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the jig which is employed in connection with adjustment of the push pins of the key and constitutes a component of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the key and jig and illustrating the manner of use of the latter.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to'FIG. 1, a fragmentary portion of a lock has been designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10.

" This lock is of conventional design and includes a lock aforementioned character, a novel assembly jig which is in the form of a single one-piece coacting element for the pin holder of the key and by means of which manual interchange of the various push pins may be materially simplified. According to the present invention, this assembly jig is in the form of a small cylindrical sleeve which receives the pin holder therein prior to removal of the latter from the key body. After the jig is in proper position on the pin holder, the key body may be detached from the pin holder in order to expose the push pins which then may be interchanged as desired. After the desired interchange of push pins has been effected, the key body may be reapplied to the pin holder and the "g removed in order thus to transfer the pin holder back to the key body whereupon the key assembly, properly set up in a new permutation or combination of push pins,

cylinder 12 within which there is disposed a rotatable part 14 and a non-rotatable part 16. An annular series of split tumblers 17, each including a driver pin 18 and a spring pressed follower pin 20, are slidable longitudinally in respective bores in the two parts. The tumblers are adapted to be longitudinally displaced by the key 22 of the present invention and when they are so displaced that all of the joints or splits 23, thereof, are in transverse register with the interfacial plane between the two parts 14 and 16, the rotatable part 14 may be turned within the lock cylinder in the usual manner of key operation. As shown in FIG. 1, the splits 23 are at different locations. The lock cylinder has an inwardly extending front flange 24 which is provided with a radial notch 26 for entry of an external guide lug 28 on the key 22, and a diametrically opposed radial notch 30 for removal of the guide lug 28 and withdrawal of the key when the rotatable part 14 has been turned to its unlocked position. A pilot post 32 on the rotatable part 14 of the lock cooperates with the key 22 in a manner that will be made clear presently in order to facilitate proper entry of the key 22 into the lock cylinder. I v

The arrangement of lock parts described above is more or less conventional and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same, the novelty of the present application consisting rather in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts of the key 22 for operating the lock 10, and the hereinafter described jig for use in connection with selective adjustment of the key. Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 6 inclusive, the key 22,

with the exception of an annular series of push pins 40 for actuating the tumblers 17 of the lock 10, is comprised of but two principal parts, and they consist of a key body 42 and push pin holder 44. The key body 42 and holder 44 are releasably held together in their assembled relationship by means of a single fastening screw 46. When the two parts are assembled and fastened together, the various push pins 40 are securely clamped in the holder in their proper operative positions for cooperation with the lock 10. When the two parts are separated after removal of the screw 46, the push pins are released for purposes of interchange, all in a manner that will be described in detail presently.

The key body 42 is of one-piece construction and comprises a cylindrical cup-shaped body portion 48 and a flat manipulating wing or finger-piece 50. The cupshaped body portion 48 embodies a cylindrical socket 52, the bottom wall 54 of which is drilled and tapped as at 56 for reception of the shank of the fastening screw 46. The cylindrical wall 58 of the body portion 48 of the key body 42 is formed with an internal guide lug 60, the function of which will become clear presently.

The push pin holder 44 is also of one-piece construction. It is in the form of a cylindrical cup-shaped body and embodies a generally cylindrical side wall 62 and a bottom wall 64. The bottom wall 64 is provided with a hole 66 therein for passage of the shank of the screw 46 therethrough. The outer surface or periphery of the side wall 62 of the holder 44 is formed with a series of circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending grooves 68, each groove being adapted to receive or accommodate therein one of the push pins 40. The rear end region of the side wall 62 is formed with an annular recess 70 (see FIG. which intersects the extreme rear ends of the grooves and affords a rearwardly facing radial shoulder 72. The grooves 68, with the exception of the two uppermost grooves, are equally spaced around the side wall 62 and they define therebetween a series of longitudinally extending narrow ribs 74. The two uppermost grooves 68 define therebetween a relatively wide rib 76, and the previously mentioned external guide lug 28 is formed on this wide rib near the forward end thereof. The rear portion of the rib 76 is relieved to provide a slot 77 which is designed to register with and receive the guide lug 60. The lug 60 and the slot 77 together form an interfitting connection for indexing the key body 42 and the push pin holder 44 during assembly thereof. An internal lug 78 is provided on the rib 76 near the forward end of the latter, and it is adapted to fit into a notch 79 in the pilot post 32 when the key is inserted into the lock as a preliminary to unlocking the lock. After insertion of the key into the lock, the lug 78 and the notch 79 form a driving connection whereby the key 10' and the rotatable lock 14 are locked together for conjoint turning movement.

Each of the push pins 40 is of elongated design and is generally rectangular in transverse cross section so as to present a contour which corresponds to, or is commensurate with, the cross sectional shape of the grooves 68 within which the pins are adapted to seat. Each pin is provided at its rear end with an integral, inwardly extending locating finger 80 which is adapted to extend into the annular recess 70 when the pin is seated within one of the grooves 68.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the various push pins 40 are of unequal length and, consequently, they are positioned within the grooves 68 with the locating fingers 80 extending into the annular recess 70, the forwardly facing shoulders 82 on the fingers seat against the rearwardly facing radial shoulder 72 on the rear end of the side wall of the push pin holder 44 and serve to locate the extreme forward ends 84 of the pins 40 at predetermined but different distances from the rim 86 of the cylindrical side wall 62 of the holder. Thus, when the key is inserted in the lock 10 in the manner previously described, the ends 84 of the push pins 40 engage the forward ends of the split tumblers 17 and slide the tumblers rearwardly into their lock-releasing position wherein their splits coincide with the interfacial plane between the rotary and stationary lock parts 14 and 16 and then permit the rotatable part to be turned by the key 22 relatively to the stationary part.

It will be seen from an inspection of FIG. 6 that, when the key 22 is assembled, the fastening screw 46 extends through the hole 66 in the bottom wall 64 of the holder 44 and draws this bottom wall hard against the bottom wall 54 of the socket 52 in the key body 42. At the same time, the locating fingers 70 at the rear ends of the various push pins 40 are caused to be clamped between the annular radial shoulder 72 and the bottom wall 54, while the cylindrical side wall of the body portion 48 of the key body 42 confines the push pins within their respective grooves 68.

As previously stated, the various push pins are interchangeable in the grooves 68 and, to facilitate rearrangement of the push pins, the jig which is shown in FIG. 7 is provided. This jig is in the form of an open-ended cylindrical sleeve, the forward end of which is counterbored in order to provide a forwardly facing, internal annular shoulder 104. The forward rim 106 of the sleeve is formed with a locating notch 108 which is designed to receive and cooperate with the external guide lug 28 on the forward end of the push pin holder 44 of the key 22.

When it is desired to interchange two or more of the push pins 40 in the assembled key 22 in order to adapt the key to operate properly in conection with a change in the arrangement or combination of the tumblers 17 of the lock 10, the jig 100 is slipped over the forwardly projecting portion of the holder and push pin assembly until the forward rim 86 of the cylindrical wall 62 of the holder 44 seats or abuts against the annular shoulder 104. In thus assembling the jig 100 upon the holder of the key 22, the guide lug 28 is caused to enter the notch 108 in the rim 106 and thus the sleeve and holder are held against relative rotation. Thereafter, the fastening scerw 46 is removed by inserting a suitable tool, such as a screw driver of the Allen head type, through the open rear end of the jig 100. Upon removal of the screw 46, the key body 42 is released from the holder 44 so that the same may be pulled axially from the assembly.

The above described operation of transferring the holder 44 from the key body 42 to the jig 100 may be accomplished while supporting the various involved parts in the hands of the operator. Thereafter, while holding the jig 100 upright so that the rim 106 thereof faces upwardly, or upon placing the jig in such upright position on a supporting surface, such as a table or the like, the various push pins 40 which now have their lower ends loosely confined in the vertical pockets which are defined by the grooves 68 and the inner surface of the jig, may be lifted vertically and endwise from these pockets and rearranged in the pockets according to any desired permutation or combination depending, of course, upon the manner of rearrangement of the tumblers 17 of the lock 10.

After the interchange of push pins has been effected in the maner set forth above, and without removing the holder 44 from its telescopic relation with the jig 100, the upper and projecting end of the holder and push pin assembly may be reinserted into the open end of the key body 42, the fastening screw 46 reapplied through the open end of the jig 100 and, finally, the jig 100 removed axially from the thus assembled key.

It is obvious that it is well within the skill of the average maintenance man or other operator to effect an interchange of push pins in the key assembly without utilizing the jig 100 and thus, in the event of loss of such jig, the

interchange need not await the furnishing of a new jig. The use of the jig merely facilitates the interchange and makes it possible without necessitating the use of a table or other supporting surface, since the change may be made entirely in the hands of the opertaor. Without the jig, the changeover may be made but it will be preferable to have available a supporting surface for temporary laying out and selection of the push pins 40.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable key for a lock of the type that embodies an annular series of interchangeable, split, springpressed tumblers, said key comprising a key body having a cylindrical socket formed in the forward end thereof, said socket having a bottom wall provided with a central tapped hole therein, a cup-shaped push pin holder of greater axial extent than the depth of said socket, having its rear end region fitting in said socket and embodying a generally cylindrical side wall and, in addition, a bottom wall with a central opening therein, said side wall being formed with a series of closely spaced, parallel, longitudinally extending external grooves therein, said side wall being provided at its rear end with an external annular recess intersecting said grooves, a push pin disposed in each groove and having its rear end region projecting into said socket and confined between the cylindrical wall of the socket and the side and bottom walls of the groove, said push pins being interchangeable in said grooves and being of predetermined but diiferent lengths, a locating finger on the rear end of each push pin and projecting into said recess for locking the pin against longitudinal shifting in its respective groove, a guide lug on the key body and a cooperating guide slot in the rear end region of the holder for preventing turning of the key body Within the holder, and a fastening screw projecting through said opening and threadedly received in said tapped hole for releasably securing said holder and key body together.

2. The combination with an adjustable key for a lock of the type that embodies an annular series of interchangeable, split, spring-pressed tumblers, said key including a key body having a cylindrical socket formed in the forward end thereof and from which there projects outwardly a generally cylindrical push pin holder, said holder presenting an outer cylindrical surface provided with a series of axially extending grooves which are coextensive With said surface, the rear end region of said holder being telescopically received within said socket, a fastening screw extending axially through said holder and threadedly received in the bottom wall of the key body and serving releasably to maintain said rear end region of the holder within the socket, and a push pin disposed in each of said grooves and having its rear end projecting into said socket and confined between the cylindrical Wall of the socket and the side and bottom walls of the groove, said push pins being interchangeable in said grooves and being of different lengths, of a sleeve-like jig for facilitating interchanigng of said push pins, said jig being telescopically receivable over the projecting end of the holder and over the outer exposed ends of the push pins carried thereby and, when so received, serving to confine said outer exposed ends of the push pins within pockets which are created between the inner surface of the jig and the side walls and bottoms of the grooves in the holder, to the end that, when said fastening screw is removed and the holder and the push pins carried thereby withdrawn from said socket, the pins are released for endwise removal from said pockets and subsequent selective reinstallation in said pockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,993,361 Van Lahr July 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 429,593 Germany May 31, 1926 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE KEY FOR A LOCK OF THE TYPE THAT EMBODIES AN ANNULAR SERIES OF INTERCHANGEABLE, SPLIT, SPRINGPRESSED TUMBLERS, SAID KEY COMPRISING A KEY BODY HAVING A CYLINDRICAL SOCKET FORMED IN THE FORWARD END THEREOF, SAID SOCKET HAVING A BOTTOM WALL PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL TAPPED HOLE THEREIN, A CUP-SHAPED PUSH PIN HOLDER OF GREATER AXIAL EXTENT THAN THE DEPTH OF SAID SOCKET, HAVING ITS REAR END REGION FITTING IN SAID SOCKET AND EMBODYING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SIDE WALL AND, IN ADDITION, A BOTTOM WALL WITH A CENTRAL OPENING THEREIN, SAID SIDE WALL BEING FORMED WITH A SERIES OF CLOSELY SPACED, PARALLEL, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING EXTERNAL GROOVES THEREIN, SAID SIDE WALL BEING PROVIDED AT ITS REAR END WITH AN EXTERNAL ANNULAR RECESS INTERSECTING SAID GROOVES, A PUSH PIN DISPOSED IN EACH GROOVE AND HAVING ITS REAR END REGION PROJECTING INTO SAID SOCKET AND CONFINED BETWEEN THE CYLINDRICAL WALL OF THE SOCKET AND THE SIDE AND BOTTOM WALLS OF THE GROOVE, SAID PUSH PINS BEING INTERCHANGEABLE IN SAID GROOVES AND BEING OF PREDETERMINED BUT DIFFERENT LENGTHS, A LOCATING FINGER ON THE REAR END OF EACH PUSH PIN AND PROJECTING INTO SAID RECESS FOR LOCKING THE PIN AGAINST LONGITUDINAL SHIFTING IN ITS RESPECTIVE GROOVE, A GUIDE LUG ON THE KEY BODY AND A COOPERATING GUIDE SLOT IN THE REAR END REGION OF THE HOLDER FOR PREVENTING TURNING OF THE KEY BODY WITHIN THE HOLDER, AND A FASTENING SCREW PROJECTING THROUGH SAID OPENING AND THREADEDLY RECEIVED IN SAID TAPPED HOLE FOR RELEASABLY SECURING SAID HOLDER AND KEY BODY TOGETHER. 